Reports of Drugs Being Airdropped into Remote First Nations

[The Bread Guy]

This, from the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service:

On July 19, 2009, a clearly unique delivery mechanism in northern drug trafficking was thwarted by concerned community members.

Nishnawbe-Aski Police is thankful to the community of Wunnumin Lake First Nation for reporting a suspicious package dropped by a suspicious plane in which further investigation revealed the package contained drugs.

Police are now seeking the public's further assistance in identifying a white and yellow Cessna float plane seen in the Wunnumin Lake area on Sunday, July 19, 2009.

The package contained a street value of approximately thirty-two thousand, two hundred dollars ($32,200.00) worth of marijuana and Percocet prescription drugs.

This matter is still under investigation .... Wunnumin Lake is located approximately 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay.

 

[OldSolduer]

This does not surprise me. For years now there have been drug and alcohol issues in remote reserves....even the dry ones and fly in ones.

In some cases, local gangs tied in with major organized crime gangs control the drug trade.
Its epidemic in some areas.

 

[GAP]

This does not surprise me. For years now there have been drug and alcohol issues in remote reserves....even the dry ones and fly in ones.

In some cases, local gangs tied in with major organized crime gangs control the drug trade.
Its epidemic in some areas.

On the dry reserves every plane is met by the RCMP and luggage searched, so this method is no great stretch of the imagination......mind, I think some better coordination would have worked better.....like air dropping into a remoter part of the reserve/lake at a specific time type thingy..... :

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Percocet :

Arrest every Doctor who's ever prescribed these.......

 

[Eye In The Sky]

This does not surprise me. For years now there have been drug and alcohol issues in remote reserves....even the dry ones and fly in ones.

In some cases, local gangs tied in with major organized crime gangs control the drug trade.
Its epidemic in some areas.

Reading your post, I wondered if the community that reported this will feel any pay-back from the folks who did the drop.  Hopefully not, but...

 

[GAP]

Reading your post, I wondered if the community that reported this will feel any pay-back from the folks who did the drop.  Hopefully not, but...

It is precisely that kind of thinking that empowers these criminals......You can't go through life worrying about retaliation everytime you make a decision that someone is probably going to disagree with...

 

[Eye In The Sky]

It is precisely that kind of thinking that empowers these criminals......You can't go through life worrying about retaliation everytime you make a decision that someone is probably going to disagree with...

Well I don't live like that myself.  But I also don't know how these people think, or have much knowledge as to how they live.  However, being stuck in some remote location is being exploited by gangs and Org Crime must be pretty crappy.  Kudo's to the community for doing what they did, hopefully their actions empowers other communities facing this crap to do more of the same.

 

[OldSolduer]

The drug business is extremely lucrative, and that is why so many gangs are popping up. This "air drop" was a cost of doing business. Next time they will be more careful.

The drug business is also ruthless and very Darwinian. The stupid ones aren't around long. Even the smarter ones eventually get weeded out....usually by their own.... :shooter:

The Bandidos trial currently underway is an example.

 

[X-mo-1979]

This does not surprise me. For years now there have been drug and alcohol issues in remote reserves....even the dry ones and fly in ones.

In some cases, local gangs tied in with major organized crime gangs control the drug trade.
Its epidemic in some areas.

Agreed.
Although I didn't live on a reserve there was a huge operation involving float planes dropping barrels of drugs into a pond.A quick easy way to transport large amounts.No police check point's,no need to land and be suspicious.

Something else I was wondering about is if the $32,200 is the Canadian street price or the Northern price.Where in say Edmonton 10 dollar grams quickly resale for up to 50 dollars in the North.

 

[Clove Hitch]

This is an issue that hits me close to home.

I want my children to know that there is a better life then one of drug abuse and self resentment. This issue has some play in my decision to join the Forces and contribute to everything positive about Canadian society at the same time contribute to reclaiming the good name of my people after the fact.

These dogs... these scum.... When I think of any threat to homeland security, I first think of these...smegheads.

I don't play the blame game, people have to be responsible for themselves. Most of these remote communities have no police presence but once or twice a month. If that. How can they take matters into their own hands without getting into serious kieff?

I have nothing good to say about the peop... smegheads dealing thier kieff here, there or anywhere. I don't believe they're good kids gone bad, or that they can turn thier lives around. That is not my concern...

Heads on stakes... feeding ravens.

 

[OldSolduer]

Heads on stakes... feeding ravens.

While this might be a short term attractive solution, it is not long term. This may keep the dealers out of the community for a while, until they figure out that being "under the radar" is much healthier.
What is needed is more education. Education that says more than "drugs are bad". I mean education and employment that is meaningful, not "make work" projects that pay them for a few weeks, then get laid off again.

While were on tht topic of drugs and First Nations, the Residential School payments were a concern, in that many aboriginal leaders were worried that the money would be spent on drugs and alcohol.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Well, if history is any gauge, that's were much of the Mont Cashel money went...............all it [handing over money] does it give an enabler for the person to TRY and ease the pain.

 

[tabernac]

Percocet :

Arrest every Doctor who's ever prescribed these.......

Not even kidding. It's hardly news worthy. I was on prescribed Percocet for 2 weeks, and it did nothing for me.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Except take the chance of making you an addict......

 

[X-mo-1979]

Well, if history is any gauge, that's were much of the Mont Cashel money went...............all it [handing over money] does it give an enabler for the person to TRY and ease the pain.

Hey Bruce are you referring to Mount Cashel in Newfoundland?I did a search and that was the only reference I saw.Mount Cashel was the raping of young white Newfoundlanders.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Yup, and many upon many got the money, moved to Toronto, and tried to make the hurt go away via drugs and alcohol, and many of those eventually passed through the old Guelph Correctional Centre.

To go back to topic, my post was in a referential comparison to this,

While were on the topic of drugs and First Nations, the Residential School payments were a concern, in that many aboriginal leaders were worried that the money would be spent on drugs and alcohol.

 

[X-mo-1979]

Yup, and many upon many got the money, moved to Toronto, and tried to make the hurt go away via drugs and alcohol, and many of those eventually passed through the old Guelph Correctional Centre.

To go back to topic, my post was in a referential comparison to this,

Seen.
Problem being substance abuse is the norm in Newfoundland.Add in social assistance which seems to be the norm as well...and I can see the tie between the two stories.

Sad part is both peoples have a very proud heritage of hard working hard as nails people.Yet both seem to be in the cycle of social assistance and substance abuse.

The older generation of Newfoundlanders are not cut from the same cloth as my grandparents.A level of entitlement to do nothing and live is the norm.Excitement for welfare checks to buy drugs.And if anyone wants to dispute it I was raised by the people of Canada's taxes through social assistance.I also joined the military at 17 and have served my country for 10 years thus far.It's the least  I can do to give back to the federal government who fed me throughout my childhood.

People just need to break the cycle.And I'm hoping seeing stories of community's of the north policing themselves is the start to a reverse of destructive behavior.

 

[Clove Hitch]

Hey Bruce are you referring to Mount Cashel in Newfoundland?I did a search and that was the only reference I saw.Mount Cashel was the raping of young white Newfoundlanders.

I can imagine many of them dealt with their situation in much the same way.

Badly.

People, eh? pfff ... They're all the same.

 

[Clove Hitch]

Sad part is both peoples have a very proud heritage of hard working hard as nails people.Yet both seem to be in the cycle of social assistance and substance abuse.

The older generation of Newfoundlanders are not cut from the same cloth as my grandparents.A level of entitlement to do nothing and live is the norm.

When I'm King of the Indians I'm going to tell the kids; work, school, military or banishment. They can run to Council only to find that I have dissolved it. They will no doubt then run to their mothers only to find they are either working, schoolin' or soldiering. Then they will stop running because they're out of breath. Then I will roll them off reserve and tell them to shape up, or stay out and that I'm doing this because I love them SO much (I really do).

*sigh*

It's a sad state these days. I try to laugh it off.

 

[GAP]

One of the biggest difficulties on Reserves is not the drugs/alcohol/welfare....these are symptoms of the problem. The real problem is forced idleness.....give me a couple of years of loafing around with no job prospects, no income, no hope of changing either, and I would probably do something to kill the boredom.....